GOV. MAURA HEALEY on Monday doubled down on her inability to prevent the closure of Steward Health Care’s hospitals, including those that received qualified bids but still face an uncertain future during bankruptcy proceedings.
MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MAURA HEALEY
GOV. MAURA HEALEYUp to five Steward hospitals could transition to new owners after a sales hearing in bankruptcy court, which was slated for Tuesday but is now postponed until Friday.
Healey has already said there’s nothing she can do stop Steward from closing Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, and on WBUR “Radio Boston” Monday morning she underscored her administration’s lack of authority to intervene in any other major health care service disruptions.
“This really isn’t up to me. This is all on Steward and the lenders at this point,” Healey said when asked whether she would allow other Steward hospitals to close depending on the sales process.
“We have been very active, I have been very active, our secretary of health and human services and our commissioner of public health have been very active in working with and helping to save these hospitals,” Healey continued. “I’ll just say at the outset, it breaks my heart to see a hospital close. It breaks my heart to see patients or residents worry about where they’re going to access care. It breaks my heart to see nurses and health care workers facing the specter of losing jobs. I hate it.”
Healey again again criticized Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre, who was spotted vacationing in France, at the Olympic dressage events at the Palace of Versailles. The governor, acknowledging there are 16,000 workers across the Steward system, said, “Which is why what Ralph de la Torre did is so disgusting.”
She continued, “Why I wanted them to seize Ralph’s horse at the Olympics that’s performing, why I wanted them to go after his yachts, why I wanted the feds to do an investigation and bring that money back into saving our system.”
The fate of Steward’s Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill is also in the mix. Sen. Barry Finegold, whose district includes the hospital, said Friday that he heard the facility was not going to be included in the bidding process alongside Holy Family Hospital in Methuen.
Steward officials have said they received binding bids for six Massachusetts hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill.
A spokesperson for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said the Executive Office of Health and Human Services “cannot comment on ongoing negotiations” when asked about the fate of the Haverhill hospital.
“Our administration remains focused on saving jobs, preserving access to care, and ensuring that Steward and its lender transfer all remaining hospitals to new ownership,” the spokesperson said.
Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who is pushing to save Nashoba Valley Medical Center from closing, said last week that he believes the Healey administration is “intricately involved” behind the scenes in the maneuvering regarding Steward hospitals.
Eldridge said that “credible sources” in union, municipal, and health care circles have told him “There are legitimate bidders for Nashoba Valley but the message they keep getting is the administration is not truly interested in having these hospitals remain open, which I think is a complete outrage.”
Eldridge said last week that he was “pleading” for the governor to send the public message that the state is interested in bidders for Nashoba Valley and interested in “bridge funding to keep these hospitals open while potential negotiations could happen.”
Sen. Nick Collins of South Boston said the news of Holy Family’s deal being on “life support” should be a cause for concern.
“Our state health officials can’t just blame Steward anymore,” he said. “The state has the power and money to save and stabilize all our community hospitals. We are already in, what medical professionals categorize, as an acute care crisis. Allowing community hospitals to be closed amidst this crisis would deprive vulnerable residents of their access to health care and particularly emergency care and that is simply unsafe.”
Filaine Deronnette, vice president at-large of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, said members are “angered by the reported breakdown in negotiations to transfer both campuses of Holy Family Hospital to a new owner.”
“The Massachusetts healthcare system is on the brink of collapse and action is needed now,” Deronnette said. “We call upon the Healey administration and the state Legislature to do what is necessary for patients, caregivers, the patients, and the communities they serve by taking action to ensure the transfer of all six hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill, to new ownership. Inaction puts lives at risk and Massachusetts residents deserve better.”
Local officials in Ayer and Boston have called on the governor to declare a public health emergency to keep the Carney and Nashoba open. Healey acknowledged on WBUR that while a declaration represents an option, it does not address financial concerns.
“The question is the funding, right? Somebody has to pay to continue to operate these hospitals so that they’re able to buy the supplies and workers are able to be paid — all of these things,” Healey said, as she referenced the state’s payments to help Steward’s hospitals stay operational.
Without mentioning problems in Haverhill, Healey said there is a path to keeping five Steward hospitals open.
“I am continuing to, and our administration is continuing to, round the clock, press on negotiations, press in the bankruptcy court for the lenders to finalize the deal that’s on the table so that we can save hospitals, protect jobs and most importantly, protect patients,” Healey said.